1. THIRST
2. KEEPING IT ANYTHING LESS THAN 100
3. KNOWING YOU AINT SHIT BUT MAKING EXCUSES TO PACIFY YOUR LACK OF GROWTH
4. FETISHIZING WHEN YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THERE IS NO COMPATIBILITY BUT FORCING A CONNECTION WHEN YOU KNOW ITS NOT ON SOME REAL SHIT & LATER BEING BITTER WHEN EXPECTATIONS ARE NOT MET
5. LEAVING MESSAGES ON READ WHEN YOU HAD PLANS TO MEET UP
6. LEAVING MESSAGES ON READ WHEN YOU HAD PLANS TO MEET UP & THEN TRYING TO MAKE THAT UP WITH SOME D OR P (sex in this case is beyond basic as fuck and glorification of sex in this case is a reflection of your mentality)
7. ALLOWING SOMEONE TO MAKE YOU FEEL LOW AND STILL RUNNING BACK TO THEM REPEATEDLY (being weak also makes YOU a fuckboi/gurl – that victim mentality doesn’t change shit)
8. THINKING THAT BECAUSE SOMEONE DOES BASIC SHIT FOR YOU THAT THEY ARE SPECIAL (again, low self worth doesn’t make you exempt from being involved in the fuckery)
9. USING THE BASIC SHIT THAT SOMEONE DOES FOR YOU AS A JUSTIFICATION FOR YOUR FEELINGS (see trait 1 – this is also thirst)
10. FEEDING YOUR OWN MANIPULATION (for example when you know someone is running game and you act like you don’t know what’s up and then later blame them for trying you)

I say all this with love, so don’t feel offended if you identify with any of these – just don’t complain to me either because I might not have the energy to hear about your sub par love life when we both know that you’re not out here levitating on the fuckery. This is no shade – this is about self responsibility, self awareness, self improvement, and accountability. We gotta do better and stop claiming victim & pointing fingers. Let us all enter Super Saiyan Savage mode.

I love hood politics. I love hood culture and hood theories. I’m so glad that I’m from Atlanta and that my adolescence was so heavily integrated in Rap/Hip-Hop culture which often spoke on concepts that derived from the hood. It taught me a lot. Hip-Hop/Rap can gives us lessons on hood etiquette and hood morale. These lessons often transcend the hood mentality and can really open your mind up to some deep sociological & psychological shit.

I remember when I was able to wrap my brain around the intricacies of the concept of “saving hoes”. I’m still waiting for women to claim this phrase and use it also for their sexual/romantic pursuits with the same level of arrogance that men do.

This idea of “saving hoes” is really some deep intellectual shit. Basically, men have been using this to say that they rescue women who are considerably sexually promiscuous from increasing their body count. Body count meaning the amount of men they have sexual interactions with. “To save a hoe” is when a man says to himself “ok, I’m going to step in and give this woman guidance because she is fucking around because she is lost and I’m going to give her the tender, love, & care (or the best dick she ever had) she needs so she can see herself as a queen”.

It’s really something that people of all genders, sexes, religions, ages, races, nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures do. So many of us think that our love or attention/affection can save someone else. Sometimes it can, but it doesn’t work because the giver wants it to. It works because the receiver has decided within themselves that they want and deserve love. They first must be ready, willing, and able to give love to themselves. They must grow sick and tired of their old habits and be excited about evolving and doing it on their own terms.

Sometimes the “giver” or the one who is presumably doing the “saving” also has a lack of self purpose where they can try to force feed this salvation onto their partner because they feel like they were ordained to do so. They feel like they have something that the other needs. This is also just as unhealthy as the person who allegedly needs “saving” trying to reprogram themselves because someone has entered their life trying to convince them that they should do things differently.

I’ve seen this happen so many times. It’s also something to learn from and shouldn’t be avoided if you’ve never been in it, I think. I think we all need to be in these situations to learn and grow from them. Although, in the midst of it, things can be stressful and painful. Just hopefully, you have the ability to realize that your discomfort is not something you have to accept and live with. Because yes, it will be very uncomfortable looking into the eyes of someone everyday who only finds their identity in you and you in them. That’s exactly what happens when you try to change someone to fill your void and you change for someone else to fill your void. You lose your sense of self.

Everybody is looking for something. I just know for a fact that you can’t find you in another person. You are only you. You can only be you. The moment we try to seek ourselves in other people the universe because a darker, colder place. You block your light and find refuge in someone else’s which also blocks their light.

You know what happens when too many devices take from the same energy source? The source won’t power as fully. The lights may flicker. The power may surge. This happens in humans. Our power can surge as well.

I have homies who are going through this now. They are hurting. They think this hurt will lead to some rewarding state of love in their relationship that is full of euphoria and peace. They are drained and confused, trying to find purpose in life through their relationships. They feel blocked. They revolve their lives and their thoughts around this partnership. They are seeking salvation through this pursuit of happiness in romance.

No judgement. I’ve been head over heels in it. I’ve seen it growing up. I’ve rapped along to stories of it. I’ve cracked jokes about it. I’ve advised friends against it. I’ve guided friends through it.

Growing up, I thought it was just something that happens with chicks who had “daddy issues” and guys that didn’t respect women. I thought those where the ones who were viewed as needed “saving” from bullshit relationships and seemingly worthless patterns. It’s not just something that happens as hood statistics though. We all find ourselves in toxic situations. Whether in love, work, business. We just have to learn how to make self-assured decisions for ourselves if we truly are unhappy in our current situations. We shouldn’t wait for someone else to come along, sing our praises, & make us feel worthy and empowered.

Maybe that’s the yin|yang to life though. Maybe I’m giving humans too much credit. Maybe the lack of self-love that so many of us have gives us purpose in our life journey. Essentially, maybe the desire to love ourselves more is the life force that keeps individuals seeking truth. Maybe that’s why we are all gathered here today by this thing called life.

Just remember when you’re crying over your lover or when you trying to sex the pain away, there’s not enough stroke in the vitamin D or enough power in the P that you’re serving that can save your bae from themselves.

i am in love with dreaming
what else is better to build a future with
what else is better to sustain
nail polish will chip
make-up must always be reapplied
cosmetics must always be replaced
lipstick will always smear
you can’t sleep in concealer
jewellery hides the skin
socks get holy
lingerie gets ragged
fashion fluctuates in value
vintage is subjective
vinyl records get scratched
body shapes will vary
coffee stains
food will perish
the sun will set
the moon might hide on a cloudy sky
the clouds might rage with storms
storms might ruin towns
heritage can be unknown
races can blend
skin can change pigmentation
ethnicities are ambiguous
species can go extinct
nations can lose borders
economies is opt to crash
leaders are able to disappoint
identifications must be renewed
names can changes
society is fickle
relationships are fluid
time doesn’t wait
romance is elusive
orgasms are spiritual
people are unpredictable
relationships aren’t obligatory
i am in love with dreaming
what else is better to build a future with
what else is better to sustain